A little more help from my friends

This week we return to advise Mr. Reader who is planning to circle the globe with his spousal unit and baby. After last week's Denver debacle I certainly don't expect you to trust my suggestions so I'll simply relay the information that people have been kind enough to send.

Several moms and dads from around the planet suggested that the Reader family schedule a pre-trip consult with their pediatrician to check on baby's vaccinations. Additionally many parents stated that good health coverage for baby and parents is an essential.

Several readers added that the days of showing up somewhere in Western Europe and easily gaining employment as an English instructor are long past. John from Amsterdam, an American expat, suggests, "Working in a country is the best way to integrate yourself into the society. But, it is best to check out employment restrictions and job possibilities before you leave the USA."

Conversely, several travelers report that seasonal work in bars and restaurants is plentiful throughout Europe and the Mid-East. Readers who've picked up work in cafes or hotels comment that it is low paid, they mostly meet other travelers, and it usually requires long hours.

Almost everyone in the ether made disparaging comments about guidebooks for an around the world journey. Even those that found good information in book form found drawbacks. Foremost among the complaints, "Guidebooks that cover an entire region are too general to be of much use. It is not really reasonable to carry fifteen guidebooks for different cities and countries in your backpack. My partner and I did well when we purchased guidebooks on arrival. We traded them off with other travelers we met or discarded them as we left an area."

The constant "surf the net" refrain came from readers all over the planet. New sites pop up almost daily. Readers suggest that you check out sites that contain destination information from locals.

Among the 'write locally post globally' sites http://www.wcities.com was mentioned as having current information in easily digestible "no fluff" form. The multilingual site contains data about hotels, sights, restaurants, and local events. As an all-original content site you'll find information at wcities that isn't mirrored all over the web.

http://www.cities.com is home to 4268 city guides in 145 different countries. This site links to resources around the web about cities.

http://www.excite.com/travel is the favorite start point for several budget travelers. Several folks suggested that Mr. Reader might want to check out the "Before you Go" section.

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